CHENNAI: Whether it is the spicy grill at a small eatery in Royapettah, or the lip-smacking biryani at a way-side restaurant, tiny joints across namma Chennai are the stuff that culinary legends are made of. We count on them when it’s a little too late in the night, when bigger restaurants have shut, or when we need to treat our friends and are a little low on cash. However, not many of us take the time to appreciate the men behind the stoves at these eateries, neither do we consider them ‘Chefs’ in the formal sense. However, like this one person who spoke to us said, “If being a Chef is about cooking delightful food, these people are some of the best we have.” Ravi Anna’s KadaiThe name was never official. But the man who runs this way-side eatery behind Pondy Bazaar, near Brilliant Tutorials, is so popular that his shop is usually termed the “Ravi annan kadai”, or to be politically correct, the Brilliant Tutorials Kaiyendhi Bhavan. Around 1,000 people, from businessmen in their Audis to the daily-wage labourers, visit this eatery, now 35 years old, everyday to get a piece of their now legendary ‘Nei Podi Dosai’, which in a more sophisticated setting would be called the Ghee podi roast. Open from 6.30am till 11.30pm, the vegetarian tiffin is made by four cooks, across shifts.Imran - Al Elaf GrillThe first Arabian Grilled Chicken in Chennai might not be his claim to fame, but the fastest off the skewer could certainly be his. Imran, who migrated here five years ago has been manning the skewers of grilled chicken for half-a-decade and can have one removed off the flame, cut, quartered and packed within a minute flat. The best part is that he’s not even a big fan of grilled chicken by his own admission!Nooruddin - All the best beef kebabTwelve years ago, when Nooruddin brought the special sheekh masala from Bangalore and began dishing out the sheeks-on-a-stick outside a beef stall in Royapettah, he had no idea that it would become a landmark. Now a magnet for people from across the city, his sheekhs may be a little more expensive, but still retain the same distinct spicy-tangy flavour. Despite other shops having been set up in the same area, he is adamant not to expand in any way and sticks to grilling sheekhs on a single coal-oven. “Making more means that I can’t make every single one,” he reasons and that’s the most important part of his art.Jon Basha’s beef vadasNext door is the 23-year-old beef legacy of the legendary Jon Basha. The man who brought beef sales to the area, his shop sells beef vadas, uniquely shaped cutlets that are full of the juicy meat without potatoes or onions. At `5 a vada, they’re a steal. “Whatever form beef can be eaten in, we have it here,” boasts Anwar, the grand old beefmaster’s son. He adds that every bit of meat is cooked on the same tawa, every single evening. From mince, chunks, strips and mini-steaks, he has them all stewing away with parottas and idiyappams to go on the side.Farooq - Star Fast FoodHe claims that he’s a second generation Indian-Chinese master who has been making the city’s favourite fast food for close to a decade-and-a-half. Be as it were, people queue up at the eatery to not only take home the food he makes, but also to watch him flip and toss it around in his wok, a la a desi version of Tom Cruise in Cocktail, minus the liquor. Farooq says that very few people have learnt the art of Chinese cooking from the people who brought it here — the Burmese.Kadir Hussain - AmirunisaAbout a decade ago, Kadir Hussain, a tailor by profession, realised that with the explosion of ready-made garments in the market, there was little future in a small textile outlet like his. He then started Amirunisa, the biryani shop that has now become a hot favorite on Pycrofts Road. The large quantity and the distinct flavour of the spices used, apart from the “big leg pieces” that come with the rice, have made this tiny corner shop in Triplicane a must-eat for biryani lovers.
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